A handle fastening structure is known from German Pat. No. 27 29 269 (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,146). Here the spring is constructed as a locking bar, whereby for fastening of the handle, the spring is attached to the support bracket in such a manner that the shoulder of the handle member grips behind the attachment. The handle is subsequently rotated around the hook, whereby the spring is tensioned through a first inclined surface and thereafter snaps in behind a second inclined surface. The spring applies a force onto the handle, the component of which force extends parallel with respect to the utensil wall, and presses the handle, on the one hand perpendicularly against the utensil wall and prevents, on the other hand, the handle from being released from the utensil in a direction which is opposite to the common direction of the applied load between utensil and handle. In this known handle, the spring does not only carry out a locking function between support bracket and handle, but moreover has the task of supporting at least partially the weight of the utensil.
Based on this double function of the spring, the spring must be capable of absorbing lasting high spring forces, which requires a strong spring in which, due to the small space conditions inside the handle, only a limited amount of spring deflection can be obtained.
The basic purpose of the invention is to provide a handle fastening structure of the abovementioned type such that the entire supporting function, namely the transfer of the forces from the utensil to the handle, occurs directly through the support bracket, whereby the spring has only the function of effecting a securement of the support bracket and handle to one another.
In a utensil fastening structure according to the invention, the support bracket is provided with attachments, which project over shoulders which are provided on the handle member, whereby advantageously these shoulders are constructed with at least the same inclination as the attachments. To connect the utensil and handle, only the recess of the handle must be positioned to receive the support bracket therein. The recess is structured to have excessive play in lateral direction so that the handle can be moved with respect to the support bracket parallel with respect to the utensil surface a specified distance so that the attachments on the support bracket grip over the shoulders on the handle and in this manner create a positive, form-locking connection between the support bracket and the handle and thus between handle and utensil. The spring, which is also arranged in the recess of the handle and extends substantially parallel with respect to the utensil wall, thus does not need to transmit any forces from the utensil to the handle. This spring has only the function of holding the handle and the support bracket in the locked and engaged position, so that the form-closed connection of the handle and the support bracket is maintained. The spring engages for this purpose, following the shifting movement of the handle parallel to the wall of the utensil, behind a contact surface on the support bracket, so that the handle and support bracket and thus the utensil are secured to one another.
If a removal of the handle from the utensil is desired, the spring can be pulled with a suitable tool out through an opening, which extends from outside to the interior of the handle, out of the handle recess. For example, a commercial screw driver can be utilized. With a suitable spring arching, the handle can also be moved back against the spring tension. The handle is thereafter again movable relative to the support bracket. The support bracket, which is constructed substantially U-shaped, has two laterally pulled-up legs, the width of which are conformed to the width of the recess in the handle member. The legs, which rest on the inner walls of the handle recess, are spaced from one another a sufficient distance so that they act as a lock preventing relative rotation between the handle and the utensil. Thus the spring has only the purpose of securing the handle and the support bracket to one another.